The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

It is the summer of 1950 and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia's family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw.

Terrific story...spot-on narration

A nicely written mystery with all the classic elements: an English estate, an argument late at night, a dead body in the garden, a murder investigatio..Show More »n. In the hands of a lesser writer, these elements could signify a contrived, cookie-cutter mystery. This is far from it. It follows some basic patterns expected in a mystery, but delivered in the first person narrative by a completely likeable, precocious eleven year old, it turns into a very engaging, suspenseful, funny and entertaining story.

I loved Jayne Entwhistle's reading, her voice and inflections perfectly capture what one might expect of an eleven year old telling her tale and really brings this story to life. This was so thoroughly enjoyable that I will probably let it sit in my ipod for awhile longer so I may listen to it again later.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

When a mysterious puppet show arrives in Bishop's Lacey, death is not far behind... a grisly murder during a performance of Jack and the Beanstalk in the village hall reaches back to an earlier crime that has cast a shadow over the village for years. Flavia's investigations test her powers of deduction to the limit - and provide a shocking insight into the darker corners of the adult world.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery

Flavia de Luce is a dangerously brilliant 11-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths—separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads.

delightful!

This is one of two (so far) Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley - both are delightful. I can't recommend them more highly. The main character is..Show More » a smart, witty, observant, precocious (but in fun and amusing kind of way) Pippi Longstocking type character - full of mischief, independent spirit and bursting with the sheer joy of being alive. Flavia loves scientific experients and solving mysteries, and peppers her observations of science and life with historical facts that never get in the way of the flow of the story. The descriptions of English country life and of the landscape and village characters are also good and add to the experience of the story. Thank you Audible, for pairing this delightful heroine, the11 year old Flavia de Luce, with the pitch perfect narration of Jayne Entwhistle! It's a great combination. I have been a member of audible for years and cannot remember enjoying a character or a story more. The combination of character and narrator really add to what is already a fun and absorbing story! This was not written as a children's book, but it will appeal to the adventurous young girl within readers of all ages. This book (as well as The Sweetness at The Bottom of the Pie) have made me laugh and smile with the wit, spunkiness and sheer joy in life that Entwhistle conveys through her narration of the character of Flavia. Please bring us more, Mr. Bradley, and please have Entwhistle narrate any forthcoming books in the series, Audible. Thank you for bringing this lovely character to life through these audio books. (Though written by a man, I think this series may appeal especially to females - or to persons of any age who are young and remember what it was like to be eleven years and old and full of enthusiasm and curiosity).

A Red Herring Without Mustard

“You frighten me,” the Gypsy said. “Never have I seen my crystal ball so filled with darkness.” For Flavia de Luce, the old gypsy's words open up old wounds and new possibilities. Is she a faker, or is there some truth to her powers? And when the village is rocked by another ghastly murder, how will a growing fascination with gypsy lore help Flavia to solve it?

Fantastic narration makes the story come alive

I've read the Flavia De Luce books, but the narration from Sophie Aldred makes this one come alive. Her voices for the characters are distinctive and..Show More » you can almost see the people speaking as she reads the story. By far the best narrator I've heard on Audible.

A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel

Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable 11-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey—mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia’s own backyard.

An excellent addition to the series!

I loved the first two books in this series, and enjoyed this one even more. There are mysteries beyond each individual book that seem to be revealing..Show More » themselves, and each contains a variety of interrelated stories surrounding colorful characters who become old friends. The story is sometimes very dark, sometimes very funny, as is Flavia herself. She can be a spoiled brat, a helpful neighbor, a sensitive soul, and a morbid sneak. All of these elements of her personality are captured perfectly by Jane Entwistle, the narrator. Although Flavia is a young girl from an aristocratic family of 1950s England, I find her easy to relate to and her world easy to imagine with the vivid descriptions by the author. Although the narration is from the perspective of a child, I don't see the series as children's books, though I think I would have loved them as a young teen. I'm looking forward to hearing about future developments in the fourth book.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel

It’s Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce—an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving—is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a concoction to ensnare Saint Nick. But she is soon distracted when a film crew arrives at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ decaying English estate, to shoot a movie starring the famed Phyllis Wyvern.

The Character who brought me back to Cozy Mystery

Jayne Entwhistle is the perfect voice for Flavia! These books brought me back to the genre after many years, and what an experience! A series that I..Show More » immediately had to hear in total, and have given as gifts and recommended so many times. A brilliant setting, interesting characters and charm, not to mention a good mystery make it great. 7 hours goes entirely too fast.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

With the family finances in a parlous state, Flavia's father has rented Buckshaw to a film company for a location shooting. When a heavy snowfall cuts the village off, the actors are talked into staging a benefit performance in the parish hall. But old jealousies surface, and the leading lady is murdered. Flavia, who has been enlisted to help out behind the scenes, finds herself up to her knees in snow - and murder!

Speaking from Among the Bones: A Flavia de Luce Novel, Book 5

Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the 500th anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked.

the best Flavia yet!!

a terrific listen. Flavia gets embroiled in another murder and gets to use her unstoppable curiosity to solve it. In this entry in the series we lea..Show More »rn more about her mother, about her family and of course about Flavia herself.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel, Book 6

On a spring morning in 1951, 11-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train’s arrival in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test.

One of my favorite series: try it!

Was there ever a better match between character and narrator than Flavia de Luce and Jayne Entwistle? These books are funny, touching, and sometimes n..Show More »ail-bitingly suspenseful. I had trouble seeing with the logic of some parts of this installment, but all was wrapped up in the end in a way that made sense. I do hope there will be more in the series. Hint: don't listen to this one if you haven't listened to the previous installments. And, I do mean listen: truly a case where the narration is superior to anything one can conjure in one's head.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

The absence of Flavia DeLuce’s mother, Harriet, has always cast a shadow, since her presumed death in a mountaineering accident in Tibet. Now, astonishingly, a specially commissioned train is bringing Harriet back to Buckshaw. But rather than putting the past finally to rest, Harriet's return is set to trigger a further series of bizarre and deadly events, as a most curious group of individuals converge on Buckshaw to pay their respects…

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: Flavia de Luce, Book 7

Flavia de Luce - "part Harriet the Spy, part Violet Baudelaire from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (The New York Times Book Review) - takes her remarkable sleuthing prowess to the unexpectedly unsavory world of Canadian boarding schools in the captivating new mystery from New York Times best-selling author Alan Bradley.

A little disappointing

Only if the friend had previously read the rest of the series. I don't think Flavia's character quirkiness is explained well enough.